Vin Diesel

An overnight action-film sensation who intrigued audiences when he seemingly emerged from nowhere in the summer of 2001, Vin Diesel actually made his first mark on the movie business as a filmmaker. H...
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Production on the seventh instalment of the Fast & Furious film series is set to resume in the coming weeks following the death of franchise star Paul Walker, according to new cast member Kurt Russell. The Thing star was cast in Fast & Furious 7 to play a "father figure" to Vin Diesel and Walker's characters, but he is now unsure about how his character's storyline will move forward following the actor's tragic passing.
He tells EW.com, "At the time, we were talking about (my character) possibly going into a future episode as a sort of father figure to Vin and Paul's character (sic) - or possibly die in Fast & Furious 7. The character was created to go either way, and it will be interesting to see what they do now, if there's any change in that. I don't know if there will be. But obviously, they're working hard on doing what they have to do to try to make that thing work.
"I think they're going to gear up again in February or March, so we'll see."
However, Russell is grateful he had the chance to work with Walker before his untimely demise in a car crash in November (13).
The acting veteran continues, "That was a terrific guy. I just met him on the (movie set) and I was just very struck by how similar our lives are and how we looked at life. All the things he did outside of acting that he really enjoyed were similar to the things that I like to do. He was a hell of a good guy."
Meanwhile, studio executives are set to meet with the franchise stars on Friday (10Jan14) to discuss plans for the future of the highly popular movies.
In a Facebook.com post on Thursday (09Jan14), Diesel wrote, "(Friday) we meet with the studio, regarding the future of the Fast saga... and the completion of Seven."

Action man Vin Diesel has compiled a video montage of behind-the-scenes footage from the Fast & Furious films to pay tribute to late co-star Paul Walker, five weeks after his death. The tragic actor was killed in a fiery car crash in California on 30 November (13) and Diesel has started 2014 by sharing some of his favourite memories of Walker with fans online.
Introducing the 18-minute video posted on his Facebook.com page, Diesel writes, "You have always been so supportive, especially in these past two months. So, I wanted to share something personal that I worked on through the New Year, in honor of my brother Pablo... Paul."
The tribute, captioned, "A glimpse... of Dom and Brian... off screen" - a reference to their character names - features various clips of the pals joking around at different promotional events for the street racing franchise, hanging out at a car workshop and paying a visit to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.
Meanwhile, their movie co-star Tyrese Gibson was given a sad reminder of Walker's passing during a trip to Dubai, United Arab Emirates this week (begs06Jan14) after coming across a yellow sports car, similar to the 'Bumblebee' vehicle used in his Transformers movies, with "Dude I almost had you. R.I.P. Paul Walker 1973-2013" emblazoned on the back bumper.
An emotional Gibson posted a short video of his reaction to the unexpected car tribute online on Wednesday (08Jan14), ending the clip with the words, "My my my, rest in peace big homie."

Actor Paul Walker's Fast & Furious character will be retired, not killed off, in the latest film of the hit franchise, according to a U.S. report. Walker's co-star Vin Diesel announced on Facebook.com last month (Dec13), that production on the seventh installment of the movie series would move forward and Walker, who died in a fiery car crash in November (13) in California, would appear in the film.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the tragic actor's character, Brian O'Conner, will be "retired in a way... (which) will satisfy fans of the franchise and make use of the existing footage of Walker.
"(Movie bosses) devised a plan to tweak the existing script so that Walker would remain a part of the story but could be written out, allowing the franchise to continue without him."
Fast & Furious 7 is set to hit theatres in April, 2015.

Marvel Studios
In the first official picture from Marvel's upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy, we get to take a gander at Groot: a humanoid-tree creature from space who will be voiced by Vin Diesel. A great many trees have laid their roots accross the pop culture landscape, and they often take the form of ancient beings offering pearls of wisdom to young adventurers. Our friend Groot isn't much for wisdom (considering he can only say three words), but he is a noble warrior ready to defend the galaxy.
In celebration of Groot and his bark-laden brethren, we've compiled a gallery of our favorite trees in pop culture history. Be they sentient branched creatures in epic fantasy films or the metaphorical characters from the storybooks that were printed on the paper of the very species they told about, each of these arborial heroes holds a place in our heart. Check out our list, and see if your favorite spruce or oak made the cut.
GALLERY: The 10 Best Trees in Pop Culture

Vin Diesel has been confirmed to play a walking, talking tree in upcoming superhero film Gaurdians Of The Galaxy. The Fast & Furious actor will join a star-studded cast to provide the voice of Groot in the sci-fi film based on the fictional superhero team which appear in books published by Marvel Comics.
Director James Gunn confirmed the news by posting a snap of Diesel on Twitter.com posing with a model of the character. He captions the photo, "Vin Diesel is a super awesome dude. I can't tell you how much I like this guy," adding in a later post, "Yes, Vin Diesel is OFFICIALLY Groot in Gaurdians of the Galaxy."
The action man will join Bradley Cooper, Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana in the movie which is due for release in August next year (14).

Vin Diesel has confirmed Fast & Furious 7 will be released in 2015 after bosses put production on hiatus following Paul Walker's death last month (Nov13). The actor perished in a fiery car crash in California on 30 November (13), a day before he and his castmates were scheduled to resume filming in Atlanta, Georgia.
Bosses at Universal Studios closed work on the movie while the cast and crew were in mourning, and producers came up with a plan on how to resume filming without the franchise's main star.
Now Diesel has reached out to fans on Facebook.com to reveal the movie will hit cinemas in April, 2015, almost a year after its planned release date in July next year (14).
He writes, "There was a unique sense of completion, of pride we shared... in the film we were now completing (sic) ... the magic captured... and, in just how far we've come...Fast and Furious 7 will be released April 10th 2015! P.s. He'd want you to know first."

Wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne Johnson has been named the top-grossing actor of 2013. The action star has made his way to the top of Forbes magazine's new list, thanks to his multiple blockbuster films over the past year.
Most notably, Johnson's car-racing film Fast & Furious 6 earned $789 million (£526 million) worldwide. Together with G.I. Joe: Retaliation and two smaller films, he racked up $1.3 billion at the global box office.
Johnson narrowly beat out Iron Man 3 star Robert Downey Jr., as the superhero movie earned $1.2 billion. However it was Downey Jr.'s only film that released in 2013.
Funnyman Steve Carell placed third thanks to Despicable Me 2, while Johnson's Fast & Furious co-stars also made the countdown thanks to the latest installment of the hit franchise - Vin Diesel placed fourth and the late Paul Walker came in sixth place.
Sandra Bullock rounded out the top five after finding box office success with Gravity and The Heat.

Actor/writer Danny Strong has been handed the task of updating the script of classic movie musical Guys And Dolls for a remake. Studio bosses at 20th Century Fox have been working on the project for over two years and have now decided to move forward with The Hunger Games screenwriter.
The movie will be based on author Damon Runyon's short stories about the gangsters and gamblers of the 1920s and 1930s.
The original 1950 movie starred Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons and Frank Sinatra.
Earlier this year (13), Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt expressed interest in bringing the film back to the big screen, with the pair eager to take on lead roles.
Meanwhile, Baz Luhrmann, Vin Diesel, Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman have all previously considered taking on the project.
Casting details for the new Guys and Dolls reboot have yet to be revealed.

A second man accused of stealing the roof from the sportscar Paul Walker took his last ride in has been released on bail after surrendering to police on Tuesday (10Dec13). Los Angeles authorities charged both Anthony Janow, 25, and Jameson Witty, 18, with one felony count of grand theft of personal property on Monday (09Dec13), amid allegations they stole parts of the wreckage of the Porsche Carrera GT that the Fast & Furious star and his pal, driver Roger Rodas, were in when they crashed on 30 November (13).
They also face misdemeanour counts of destroying evidence.
Witty was arrested last week (ends06Dec13) and released from custody, while Janow handed himself in to authorities at the San Fernando court house for booking on Tuesday. He has since been released on $60,000 (£40,000) bail.
Both men face up to four and a half years behind bars if convicted.
Meanwhile, Walker's family is reportedly set to hold a private funeral for the star at Hollywood's Forest Lawn Memorial Park after his remains were released by coroners this week (begs09Dec13).
Sources claim the tragic actor's Fast & Furious franchise co-stars, including Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster, will be among those invited to attend the small family memorial.

Vin Diesel was so devastated at the death of his close pal Paul Walker, he broke down in front of his Fast & Furious co-star's grieving family. Walker was killed in a fiery car crash earlier this month (Dec13) when a Porsche driven by his friend slammed into a pole, killing both driver and passenger.
In an emotional Facebook post, Diesel reveals he flew to California to visit Walker's family to offer his support as soon as he heard about the tragedy, but he ended up being comforted by Walker's mother.
He writes, "When I heard, I immediately flew back to California, and went directly from the plane to his mother's house...I thought they needed my strength, but realized (sic) when I got there and broke down before his family, that it was I who needed theirs. His mother hugged me and said I am so sorry... I said sorry? You're the mother who lost a son?... She said yes, but you lost your other half..."

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Breakthrough role as Riddick, a futuristic ex-con, in the sci-fi thriller "Pitch Black"

Featured in the ensemble drama, "Boiler Room"

Played a more lighthearted role in the comedy film, "The Pacifier"

Played a mercenary in Mathieu Kassovitz's "Babylon A.D."

Starred in Sidney Lumet's "Find Me Guilty," as a mobster who successfully defends himself in a two-year trial

Feature directorial debut, the Sundance screened "Strays"; also scripted, produced and starred

First earned notice directing the short film "Multi-Facial"; screened at the 1995 Cannes Festival

Starred as a DEA agent out to avenge his wife's murder in the action feature "A Man Apart"

Voiced the title character in the animated feature "The Iron Giant"

Featured in "Saving Private Ryan" as the ill-fated Lieutenant Caparzo

Reprised role in "The Chronicles of Riddick," the sequel to the surprise sci-fi hit "Pitch Black"

Reprised role of Riddick in "Pitch Black 2"

Made stage debut at age seven appearing in the children's play "Dinosaur Door" at Theater for the New City

Reprised role of Dominic Toretto in the fourth film "Fast and Furious"

Once again reprised role of Dominic Toretto for the fifth film, "Fast Five"

Starred in "Fast & Furious 6"

Featured in the sci-fi sequel "Riddick"

Played the lead in the action thriller "xXx"

Summary

An overnight action-film sensation who intrigued audiences when he seemingly emerged from nowhere in the summer of 2001, Vin Diesel actually made his first mark on the movie business as a filmmaker. His first two independent films screened at the Cannes and Sundance Film Festivals after which the hulking, clean-shaven actor had a breakthrough role as imposing antihero Riddick in the cult-favorite sci-fi film "Pitch Black" (2000). He was quickly snapped up by Hollywood and transformed into a movie star with high-octane hits "The Fast and the Furious" (2001) and "xXx" (2002). Diesel found further box-office success with the Disney comedy "The Pacifier" (2005) and went on to receive decent reviews for his dramatic performance in "Find Me Guilty" (2006), but audiences were generally reluctant to accept him in anything but sequels to his signature action films. The hype that surrounded the actor's rush to stardom eventually gave way to a period of career stagnation, but he bounced back in a big way with his prominent return for the 2009 sequel "Fast &amp; Furious" and its reliably popular later installments, including the super-sized "Fast &amp; Furious 6."